So, how did we meet? The short: online. The long: We both logged on to a Christian online dating site, www.christianmingle.com. He sent me a standard, pre-scripted message, asking me to send him an email. To that, I sent a similar request for him to look at my profile to contact me. Since he could not contact me on myspace.com, he again sent a message for me to email him. I did so on April 9, 2008 (yes, we looked back to check the date). I started with the broadest question I could think of, torturing him from the beginning: So, tell me about yourself. Less than two months later and after many many long emails (some of which were rewritten after dead laptop batteries and malfunctioning internet services lost them), Seth made the treck to the NKY to meet me, flowers in hand. Here's the engagement story: As the months of dating brought Seth and Rebecca closer, Seth became more and more certain that he could spend the rest of his life with Rebecca. He also knew that waiting until June 6 (the one year anniversary of their first date) was rapidly becoming too long to wait. The plan quickly formed to propose to Rebecca on April 9, the one year anniversary of their first email exchange. Seth called up Veronica, Rebecca’s friend in wholesale jewelry, and set up a time to pick out an engagement ring. As he picked out the ring Veronica kept exclaiming, “That is so Rebecca!” On April 7, Seth called up Rebecca’s father, Bobby, and asked if he could come down and talk to him about his daughter. He replied, “Sure. I’m free after 3:00.” Seth went down on April 8 to pick up the engagement ring and ask Bobby permission to marry his daughter. After an insightful and joyful conversation with Rebecca’s parents, Seth returned to Ohio to put in the final preparations for his proposal the next day. On Thursday, April 9, 2009, Seth drove down to Kentucky with the engagement ring in his left pocket and a dozen red roses in his passenger seat. He sat in the parking lot of Rebecca’s school until classes got out for the day. Seth gave her a call and after a little small talk told her that he was in the parking lot with a present. Rebecca came out and was greeted with a dozen beautiful red roses. Rebecca greeted him there and, while she was suspicious, also knew that Seth is the kind of guy who would surprise her at random—or even on an occasion like this. After she rushed through an after school meeting they went to her condo to spend some time alone. Seth mentioned—well, insisted, rather—that, since it was such a beautiful, warm and sunny day, they should go for a walk. As they were getting up to walk, Rebecca placed her hand on Seth’s pocket which held his keys (Seth guessed she was checking to see if they were a ring box) and he gave her a look as to say what are you doing? and said, “Those are my keys.” They walked around the small lake behind Rebecca’s house; they watched the people fishing and biking and chatted and enjoyed the scenery. It was a perfect day. They eventually stopped in a gazebo—the same gazebo where they had shared their first kiss. As Seth held Rebecca, he began to tell her how much he loves her and how wonderful she is. His speech was well-paced and sweet, as usual. Rebecca had convinced herself, finally, that Seth was being sweet and wasn’t going to propose. She turned the conversation to very silly mode. He joined in on the silliness. Then, Rebecca noticed that one of Seth’s arms was missing, as he had slipped his left hand into his pocket while dropping down to one knee and opening the ring box in one relatively smooth and quick motion. The question was quite possibly the slowest question asked in the history of the world, in Rebecca’s opinion. As Seth finished his speech with “…and I was wondering: Will you marry me?” Rebecca was only thinking, “Don’t cut him off; let him finish.” The anticipation was killing her and once the last words rolled off of his tongue, she grabbed him and pulled him off his knee so quickly that he snapped the ring box closed for fear that the rock would fly into the lake. She said, “Yes!” and “of course!” repeatedly.

The ceremony will take place at Christ United Methodist Church in Florence, Kentucky. The reception will be at the Cincinnati Airport Marriott.